The present invention pertains to a rack for supporting a variety of athletic equipment, particularly relating to motocross, for the purpose of support during cleaning, drying, and display.
Motocross riders and many other sports related activities require certain protective gear to be worn during the activity in order to protect the participant from forceful impacts and to prevent injuries. The protective gear usually comprises a helmet, pair of boots, chest protector and a pair of gloves among other articles. Throughout the duration of the activity the equipment typically becomes extremely soiled due to falls in the mud, body sweat, and kicked up dirt from other participant's dirt bikes.
With that said, motocross gear and other sports related equipment frequently require cleaning after every use in order to maintain the gear in good working order, prep gear for storage, and for aesthetic purposes. Riders frequently utilize a water spray provided by a hose or power washer in order to clean their equipment after each use. This process can be cumbersome and awkward due to the irregular shapes of the equipment particularly the helmet, chest protector, boots and gloves. Riders tend to place the gear on the dirty ground during this process which is averse to cleaning. Moreover, the gear tends to move around because of the force of the water spray inhibiting accuracy and efficiency of cleaning the equipment. Additionally, during the drying period, equipment is typically strewn about the ground or hung miscellaneously without regard to effective drying techniques nor in an organized fashion.
The present invention provides an apparatus for reducing these problems. The difficulties inherent in the art are therefore overcome in a way which is simple, user friendly, and efficient—which will provide better and more advantageous results.
For the foregoing reasons, what is needed is to provide a collapsible equipment cleaning and drying rack that proficiently supports equipment in a logical arrangement that is ideal for cleaning and drying.
With that said, a collapsible equipment cleaning and drying rack configured to support equipment during the cleaning and drying process is provided. In particular, the collapsible equipment cleaning and drying rack is configured to provide stability and maintain equipment arrangement while withstanding forces of water spray from a hose or power washer during the cleaning process. The collapsible equipment cleaning and drying rack generally comprises a frame support assembly operable between an open freestanding position and a collapsed position, and a pivotal equipment support assembly pivotally attached to the frame assembly along a transverse axis.
In a version of the invention, the frame support assembly comprises a front pair of support legs connected by a transversely extending lower member; and a rear pair of support legs connected by a transversely extending lower member. The rear pair of support legs are pivotally connected to the front pair of support legs along the transverse axis in order to provide operation between the freestanding position and the collapsed position.
In a version, the pivotal equipment support assembly pivotally attached to the frame support assembly comprises a transversely extending pivot and support member rotatable about the transverse axis, an upper helmet assembly for supporting a helmet fixedly attached to the transversely extending pivot member, and a lower boot assembly extending below the transversely extending pivot member, comprising a pair of generally parallel upwardly extending boot members, each configured for seating boots thereon.
In another version, one or more elevated clip means are supported by the frame support assembly for hanging equipment gloves above the pivotal equipment support assembly.
In yet another version of the invention, the pivotal equipment support assembly is configured to be attachably removable to the frame support assembly.
Still other benefits and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon a reading and understanding of the following detailed specification.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with regard to the following description, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where;
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are only for purposes of illustrating a preferred version of the invention and not for purposes of limiting the same.
The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary versions of the invention. The description is not to be taken in the limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating, the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.
Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features.
Attention is directed initially to
Equipment cleaning and drying rack 100 generally comprises a frame support assembly 102 and a pivotal equipment support assembly 104. The pivotal equipment support assembly 104 is pivotally attached the frame support assembly 102 along a transverse axis X.
The frame support assembly 102 will be described initially. In a first version, the frame support assembly 102 includes a front pair of support legs 106 connected by a transversely extending lower front member 108, and a rear pair of support legs 110 connected by a transversely extending lower rear member 112. The rear pair of support legs 110 are pivotally connected to the front pair of support legs 106 along the transverse axis X by a pivot means such as a rod or—as illustrated in the version 100—a pair of pivot pins 114. The leg pairs 106, 110 may this be moved apart to an angled or open position as best seen in
A pivotal equipment support assembly 104 and its connection to the frame support assembly 102 will be described next. The pivotal equipment support assembly 104 is shown as including a transversely extending pivot and support member 120 configured to rotate about the transverse axis X, an upper helmet assembly 122 for supporting a helmet rigidly extending above the transversely extending pivot and support member 120, and a lower boot assembly 124 rigidly extending below the transversely extending pivot and support member 120. Generally, the pivotal equipment support assembly 104 has a center of gravity that falls below the point of pivot and the transverse axis X, thereby providing the tendency to maintain an upright position withstanding pressurized water spray during the cleaning process.
In particular, the upper helmet assembly 122 for seating a helmet comprises an upwardly extending helmet member 126 having an enlarged top portion 128 and a forward extending helmet member 130 forming an obtuse angle for seating a helmet thereon. A rearward extending member 132 forms an acute angle with the upwardly extending helmet member 126 which provides further support to the rear of the helmet. The combined configuration of the upwardly extending member 126, forward extending member 130 and the rearward extending member 132 provide a forward tilting seat for helmets mounted thereon. In the version, the enlarged top portion 128 is a curved forward extending member; however, can be of any configuration that properly supports the helmet thereon. Version 200 as illustrated by
The lower boot assembly 124 for seating a pair of inverted boots extends below the transversely extending pivot and support member 120 and X axis, comprises a pair of substantially parallel upwardly extending boot members 136. Each upwardly extending boot member 136 having an enlarged top portion 138 for supporting the inverted insole of each boot 12. The enlarged top portion 138 can be of any size or dimension that supports the insole of each hoot 12.
Moreover, in the version, the collapsible equipment cleaning and drying rack 100 may incorporate one or more clips means or clips 140 supported by the frame support assembly 102 for hanging equipment, particularly gloves as shown in
A second version 200 is now presented as illustrated in
Moreover, the second version 200 may further comprise one or more catch brackets 150 positioned between at least one front support leg 106 and an adjacent rear support leg 110 near the transverse axis X in order to limit the travel distance between the front pair of support legs 106 and the rear pair of support legs 110 while in the open freestanding position—providing a superior stability to the overall frame support assembly 102 configuration. See
In yet another version 300 of the equipment cleaning and drying rack as illustrated by
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The present invention can be made in any manner and of any material chosen with sound engineering judgment. Preferably, materials will be strong, lightweight, long, lasting, economic, and, ergonomic such as plastic piping or polyvinyl chloride piping (PVC).
The invention does not require that all the advantageous features and all the advantages need to be incorporated into every version of the invention.
Although preferred versions of the invention have been described in considerable detail, other versions of the invention are possible.
All the features disclosed in this specification (including and accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
This application is based upon and claims the priority filing date of the previously filed, copending U.S. Provisional patent application entitled “COLLAPSIBLE EQUIPMENT CLEANING AND DRYING RACK” filed May 7, 2015, Ser. No. 62/158,106, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62158106 | May 2015 | US |